Charging handles or cocking handles or bolt handles for rifles are well known and universally used to perform several functions related to loading, cocking, firing, and ejecting shells in cooperation with a rifle. The charging handle, when operated, causes the rifle's hammer or striker to be cocked (i.e., moved to the ready position) thereby allowing the operator of the rifle (i.e., the shooter) to pull the bolt rearward. This action facilitates several possible actions. For example, this action may eject a spent shell casing or unfired cartridge from the rifle's chamber.
Another action typically accomplished by the bolt's rearward motion is loading a round of ammunition from a magazine or a hand-inserted single round.
Clearing a stoppage caused by a jam, a double feed, a stovepipe or a misfire is yet another action accomplished by the rearward motion of the bolt.
The rearward bolt movement verifies that the weapon's chamber is clear of any rounds or other obstructions.
Finally, the rearward motion of the bolt may release a bolt locked to the rear. This situation may occur after the last round on a firearm equipped with a last-round-hold-open feature has been fired.
Charging handles may vary significantly between rifle models. Several common forms of charging handle range from small protrusions or hooks from the side of the bolt to a pumped slide or lever.
The AR-15 rifle is a lightweight, 5.56 mm/0.223-caliber, magazine-fed, air cooled rifle with a rotating-lock bolt, typically actuated either by a direct impingement gas mechanism or alternately by a long/short stroke piston operation. The AR-15 rifles were first built by ArmaLite as a small arm rifle for the United States armed forces. ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt (i.e., Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC) who modified the rifle by relocating the charging handle from under the carrying handle (like the AR-15s predecessor the AR-10) to the rear of the receiver. Colt trademarked the name AR-15®. This redesigned rifle was subsequently adopted as the M16 rifle. The M-16® subsequently became available in semi-automatic versions. Since the early 1960s, the term AR-15® has applied only to semi-automatic versions of the rifle. While the name “AR-15” remains a Colt registered trademark, as is widely known to those of skill in the firearms arts, variants of the firearm are still independently made, modified and sold under various names by multiple manufacturers.
Charging handles of the prior art suffer from several deficiencies. For example, when a shooter is in a high stress circumstance such as being under fire, fine motor skills tend to diminish. Also, when in a firefight, receiving a gunshot wound to the hand is not uncommon. Diminished small motor skills for whatever reason may result in difficulty grabbing latches on prior art charging handles.
Many charging handles of the prior art are adaptable to the AR-15®. M-4® and M-16® rifles have been mounted in positions that limit the efficiency of a shooter. These awkward mounting arrangements often force the shooter to move his or her support hand a long distance to, for example, a rear positioned charging handle. When moving the support hand is required, the shooter typically loses significant control of the rifle.
Another consequence arising from prior art charging handles is that a shooter may be required to move his or her finger from the trigger to operate the charging handle.
Further, the shooter sometimes must move his or her cheek from the stock weld, thereby causing the shooter's eyes to be drawn away from the sight or “scope”.
It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide a charging handle that overcomes these and other disadvantages of charging handles of the prior art.